Shohreh Aghdashloo

Early life

Aghdashloo earned a bachelor's degree in international relations at Brunel University because of her interest in politics after having to leave her home country. She was already familiar with England, as her parents had taken her to London as a child. She then continued to pursue her acting career, which brought her to Los Angeles. She has since performed in a number of Touzie's plays, successfully taking them to national and international stages, primarily in the Iranian diaspora. Though born to a Muslim family, she has stated that she is non-practicing.

Career

Aghdashloo first began working as a theatre actress at the age of 19, when she starred in a theatrical adaptation of the novel The Narrow Road to the Deep North (1973). Aghdashloo made her American film debut in 1989 in a starring role in Guests of Hotel Astoria. Her television debut came on September 25, 1990, in a guest role in the two-hour episode of the NBC television series Matlock, titled "Nowhere to Turn: A Matlock Mystery Movie". In the years that followed Aghdashloo appeared on screen sporadically, including in the widely panned Surviving Paradise (2000), written and directed by Kamshad Kooshan.

In 2001 Aghdashloo was cast opposite Ben Kingsley and Jennifer Connelly in director Vadim Perelman's House of Sand and Fog (2003) for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Following this exposure Aghdashloo had a prominent recurring role in Season 4 of the Fox television series 24, playing Dina Araz, a terrorist undercover in Los Angeles as a well-to-do housewife and mother. In an interview with Time magazine, Aghdashloo stated that although she had previously resisted reinforcing the stereotype of Muslims as terrorists, the strength and complexity of the role convinced her to accept it. In the period that followed, Aghdashloo made guest appearances on several well-known television series, such as Will & Grace, ER and Grey's Anatomy. She also played supporting roles in films such as X-Men: The Last Stand as Dr. Kavita Rao, The Lake House, The Nativity Story as Elizabeth, and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2.

In 2008, Aghdashloo served as an official festival judge at the second annual Noor Iranian Film Festival in Los Angeles, while she also played the lead character of Zahra Khanum in the film The Stoning of Soraya M., marking her first leading role in a feature-length American film. Film scholar Hamid Naficy criticized her role in the film as "discredit[ing] her vow not to play in films that stereotype Middle Easterners, including Iranians." In the same year, she also portrayed Sajida Talfah in the HBO original miniseries House of Saddam for which she received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie. Speaking to a crowd of over 1,400 people at George Washington University's Lisner Auditorium on September 12, 2009, Aghdashloo, author Dr. Azar Nafisi, and Dr. Dwight Bashir, Associate Director for Policy at the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, added their voices to those concerned about human rights in Iran and the persecution of Baháʼís in Iran. Aghdashloo's talk in particular was posted to YouTube. On October 9, 2010, the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans awarded Aghdashloo their Career Achievement Award during its first annual gala. Aghdashloo continues to act in films, such as The Odd Life of Timothy Green, Septembers of Shiraz and Star Trek Beyond; and on television, guest starring on series such as House, M.D., The Simpsons, Grimm, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and NCIS. She also voiced characters for the video games Mass Effect 2, Mass Effect 3, Destiny, Destiny 2, and Assassin's Creed Mirage; starred in the London revival of the play The House of Bernarda Alba at the Almeida Theatre as Bernarda Alba; and narrated the audiobook And the Mountains Echoed, by Khaled Hosseini.

From 2015 to 2022, Aghdashloo starred in Amazon Prime Video's television series The Expanse as UN Deputy Undersecretary of Executive Administration Chrisjen Avasarala, a "smart and passionate member of a political family legacy who has risen high in the ranks of Earth's governing body without once standing for election". In 2025, she portrayed Elaida a'Roihan in season three of the Amazon series The Wheel of Time.

Works

Film

Television

Video games

Audio

Theatre

Other awards

• 2007: Arpa Career Achievement Award
• 2013: Noor Iranian Film Festival Achievement Award

Personal life

In 1987, Aghdashloo married actor/playwright Houshang Touzie. They have a daughter, Tara Touzie, born in 1989.

Notes

References

References

1. Poskitt, Matt. (October 5, 2023). "Who is Shohreh Aghdashloo? Meet the Roshan voice actor from AC Mirage". Radio Times.
2. SpottinGames. (2022-09-11). "Shohreh Aghdashloo Talks About Assassin's Creed Mirage {{!}} Ubisoft Forward 2022".
3. "Syfy's 'The Expanse' space drama casts Shohreh Aghdashloo". Entertainment Weekly.
4. World Archipelago. "The Alley of Love and Yellow Jasmines". HarperCollins US.
5. (January 29, 2015). "Brunel University".
6. source: ''House Of Sand And Fog'' DVD – Biographies
7. Balfour, Brad. (June 28, 2009). "Iranian Actress Shohreh Aghdashloo Speaks Out Loudly About The Stoning of Soraya M.".
8. (December 10, 2017). "'Shohreh Aghdashloo – "I had to fight for every right. For my basic right!"".
9. (June 30, 2000). "'Surviving Paradise': Iranian Kids on the Loose".
10. (September 29, 2000). "FILM CLIPS / Also opening today".
11. (July 7, 2001). "Film Search Results".
12. (June 17, 2010). "House of Sand and Fog Movie – Shohreh Aghdashloo Interview". [[About.com.
13. (January 24, 2005). "Q&A: Shohreh Aghdashloo".
14. Bianco, Robert. (May 21, 2010). "At the end of the day, Jack Bauer and '24' delivered". Usatoday.Com.
15. (July 17, 2010). "Shohreh speaks against stoning". Dailymailnews.com.
16. (2012). "A Social History of Iranian Cinema, Vol. 4: The Globalizing Era, 1984–2010". Duke University Press.
17. (September 12, 2009). "Azar Nafisi, Shohreh Aghdashloo and Dwight Bashir Join Swelling Chorus in Support of Iranian Baha'is". Bahai Faith, Washington DC.
18. Aghdashloo, Shohreh. (September 21, 2009). "Shohreh Aghdashloo on Baha'i Human Rights in Iran". ctcny9.
19. [http://www.paaia.org/CMS/announcing-the-first-paaia-annual-gala-.aspx "Announcing the First PAAIA Annual Gala"] {{Webarchive. link. (September 27, 2010 , Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans, October 9, 2010)
20. (May 21, 2013). "And the Mountains Echoed". Penguin Audio.
21. Petski, Denise. (December 11, 2024). "'''The Wheel of Time'' Adds Shohreh Aghdashloo to Season 3 Cast".
22. Otterson, Joe. (December 11, 2024). "''Wheel of Time'' Season 3 Casts Shohreh Aghdashloo".
23. "Shohreh Aghdashloo (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors.
24. Kennedy, Michael. (November 20, 2021). "Who Plays Gozer In ''Ghostbusters: Afterlife'' (Is It Olivia Wilde?)".
25. D'Alessandro, Anthony. (2022-04-12). "'Damsel': Robin Wright, Ray Winstone, Nick Robinson, Brooke Carter & Shohreh Aghdashloo Join Netflix Millie Bobby Brown Fantasy Pic".
26. Fleming, Mike Jr.. (8 July 2021). "Paulo Coelho's 'The Alchemist' Gets Fall Morocco Production Start; Sebastian De Souza, Tom Hollander, Shohreh Aghdashloo Star For Director Kevin Frakes". Deadline Hollywood.
27. (October 16, 2019). "Seven of Hearts".
28. (October 16, 2019). "Making Amends".
29. Hibberd, James. (2024-06-20). "'The Penguin' Second Trailer: Colin Farrell in New Look at 'The Batman' Spinoff".
30. Carpenter, Nicole. (2022-09-10). "Assassin's Creed Mirage sets up Basim's origins in Baghdad, decades before Valhalla".
31. Serin, Kaan. (July 24, 2023). "The Expanse: A Telltale Series' bonus episode brings back fan favourite Shohreh Aghdashloo". Rock, Paper, Shotgun.
32. (January 14, 2016). "Conversations with Shohreh Aghdashloo of THE EXPANSE".
33. (January 28, 2012). "The House of Bernarda Alba, Almeida Theatre".
34. "What Became of Us, Atlantic Theater Company".
35. "January 2018".
36. "My Beloved Daughter Tara Jane Touzie. The Love of my life. 😍 @taratouzie". [[Instagram]].
37. ''TV Guide'': The Honduran T.V. series makes cameos for two unusual characters in Hollywood.